Christmas-tree holder



Painted Maar.` 11, 1930 JAMES C. SMITH, OF BAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CHRISTMAS-TREE `HOLIDEB Application led December 31, 1927. Serial No. 243,997.

, t The invention relates to a Christmas tree holder.. t

yThe object of the present invention is to improve the construction of Christmas tree holders and to provide asimple, practical and eiicient Christmas tree holderadapted to be easily, cheaply and rapidly constructed and capable also of being employed as a flower stand or jardinire, thereby. enabling' the device to be used throughout the entire ear.

A further object of the vinvention is to provide a Christmas tree holder of this character adapted to be constructedv of concrete..

or t similar lastic material and capable of Vbeing readil)y molded in a large variety of sizes and designs so as to present the designs of ornamental appearance and at the'same time have the required weight so as to secure- 2" ly hold the Christmas tree in an upright osition and positively prevent the same rom falling over. v

It is also an obj ect of the invention to equip the Christmas tree holder with adjustable -clamping means adapted to accommodate and engage a pole, or the trunks of Christmas trees of di'erent diameters or sizes and capable of stiffening and clamping the trunk ofthe Christmas tree above the body portion t of the holder to increase the effectiveness of the device, and removable from the body portion of the Christmas tree holder to permit the body portion to be advantageously employed as a flower stand or jardinire.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for receiving and holding water and to enable water to be conveniently poured into the holder without danger of flowing over the up er edges of the walls on to the 40 hristmas tree holder.

- exterior of YVith these and other objects in'view, the I -or sacrificing any of the advantages .of the invention. t

In the drawings F1gure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a Christmas tree holder constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 9. is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of another form of the invention in which the tree receiv- 1ng openlng is provided with straightl vertical walls.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of another form of the invention in which springs are employed for yieldably engaging thetrunk of a Christmas tree to permit tree trunks of different diameters to be gripped in the holder. v

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a form of the invention in which the plastic body is equipped with casters and-is provided with means for holding the tree against vertical movement.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 6--6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view illustrating the arrangement of the removable fastening device vfor holding the tree against vertical movement in the plastic'body.

In the accompanying drawings in which are illustrated thel preferred embodiments of the invention, the Christmas tree holder comprises in its construction a body 1 of concrete or'other plastic material adapted to be molded in various shapes and designs. The body which may be varied in size to provide the 'desired weight is provided with a central vertical" Christmas tree receiving o ening 2 which inthe form of the invention il ustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing has a general downward taper, but a vertical opening having vertical wallsA 3 may be employed as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Also, as shown in Fig. 4, the upper portion of the tree receiving opening may be provided with vertical walls 4 and a lower portion with inclined walls 5,-thereby providing an opening having a tapered lower portion. The exterior of the body 1, may be round, square, hexagonal or any other desired configuration and may have any preferred ycharacter of or namentation. The bottom of the body is provided with a recess 6 communicating with v and forming an enlargement of the vertical opening 1 and adapted to receive a pan 7 or other rece tacle for holding water. The water pan is of greater diameter than the lower end of the vertical opening 1 so that water poured into the upper end of the openmfr abile water to be conveniently supplied to the Christmas tree holder without liability of flowing over the upper edges of the same, the body portion is providedv at the upper `edge with a projecting bead 8 preferably located adjacent the outer face of the Christmas tree holderland forming a ridge around the same. This will assist in preventing water from spilling upon the floor or other supporting surface.

The trunk 9 of a Christmas tree is securely held in the holder by means of a plurality of wedges 10 which may be of any preferred.

number and which are adjustably mounted in grooves or recesses 11 in the walls of the tree receiving opening. The grooves or recesses..

extend longitudinally of the tree receiving opening preferably from the upper to the lower end of the same and they have inclined rear walls and side walls which are prefer'- a-bly arranged' in parallel vertical planes. The inclined rear walls of the recesses receive the inclined edges of the wedgeslO which have vertical .inner edges to engage the tree 9 and inclinedv outerredges to t against the inclined. walls or v.faces of the body 1.' Thewedges are adjustable vertically to vary the diameter'of the device to suitthe size of the trunk of a Christmas tree and they extend a considerable distance above the upper edge ofthe holder to lengthen the device andenable the same to stiien 'a Christmas tree and increase the eiectiveness of the clamping means. Y The wedges` are preferabl provided at their upper ends with heads 12 aving a curved contour and adapted to add to the ornamental appearance of the device. n order to increase the gripping action of the wedges one or more of the same may beprovide at their inner engaging edges with central recesses 13 adapted to permit the trunk of a; green tree to expand into them and form in a measure an interlocking engagement between the wedges and the Christms tree. The wedges compress the green trunk of the tree and bite into the same at the top and bottom of the recesses 13, and this causes the trunk of the tree to tend to ex and into the said recesses 13 and a slight bu ging of the trunk in the recesses will cause an engagement and interlocking action at the sharp corners of the wedges at the end Walls of the recesses.

Instead of employing wed es for adjustably gripping the trunk of a hristman tree, a. pole or the like, the Christmas tree holder will flow into the pan and in order to en` may, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings, be provided with a plurality of bowed springs 14 of approximately semi-circular shape having partially coiled terminals 15 and arranged/in vertical recesses 16 in the u per portion of the tree receiving opening o the plastic body. The partially coiled approximately hook-shaped terminals of the bowed springs 14 present convex faces to the rear walls 4of the longitudinal recesses 16 and the springs which may be of any desired number are adapt-ed to be vcompressed by the trunk of a Christmas tree and they automatically conform to the coniiguration of the same and will firmly hold a Christmas tree in an upright position. The springs 14 are removable from the recesses 16 and both may be provided at theupper and lower ends of the recesses with pins 17 embedded in the 'plastic material when the same is molded to form the body. The pins extend across the rear portions of the recesses and are arranged in spaced relation with the rear and end -walls of the same so that the springs may be rigidly enga-ged with and disengaged from the same by flexing the artially coiled or hook shaped terminals o the springs.

The molded plastic material may be painted or otherwise finished exteriorly and by form of the invention .in which the plastic bas-e iseq'uipped with casters 18 arranged in extensions 19 of the pan receiving recess. The casters which may be three or more in number are-of any desired construction and their socket members 20 are embedded in the plastic material of the body and are provided with flanges 21 which are fitted against the horizontal top wall of the extension 19 of the bottom pan receiving recess. The casters will enable the Christmas tree holder with a Christmas tree to be readily moved over the ioor of the supporting surface without scratching or otherwise marring the same or injuring the carpet or other floor covering.

The vertical opening in the body shown in Fig. 5-has a tapered upper main portion 22 and a tapered lower portion 23, the walls of the tapered lower portion being arranged at an angle to the walls of the tapered upper portion.' The upper portionv 22 of the opening which is adapted to receive a tree holder or the like is provided with grooves 24 similar to those heretofore described and receiving wedges 26 which are arranged in the said grooves and which engage and clamp the tree or pole'27. The tree or pole 27 is provided with va tapered lower portion 28 to fit the lower tapered portion of the opening in the plastic body and inorder to prevent relative upward movement of the treeor pole and a consequent loosening of the wedges, the plastic body is provided with a transversely disposed bore or hole 29 through which extends a nail 30 or other suitable fastening device provided ati its outerfe'nd with a head and 5 having its inner pointed end embedded inthe tree or pole. One or more nails may be employed and by securing the pole or tree against vertical'movement in the opening of the body the wedges are prevented from becoming accidentally loosened b liftin the tree in the holder. The plastic odies s own in Figs. l to 4 inclusive are also provided with inclined bores or holes 29 for the receptionof a nail or other suitable fastening device for locking the tree or pole in the holder. While the bore or hole 29 is shown at a slight inclination, it may be arranged in any other suitable position such as horizontally, and the nail or other fastening device may be readily withdrawn when it is desired to remove the tree or pole from the holder. The holder in addition to being employed for supporting Christmas trees may be advantageously employed as a Hag pole holder or for '25 holding any other analogous decoration or a pole for any purpose.

What is claimed is 1. A Christmas tree holder comprising a body portion of molded plastic material proso vided with a vertical Christmas tree receiving opening and having longitudinal recesses in the walls of the opening, and a plurality of wedges slidabl mounted in the said recesses and adapte to engage Christmas trees of different diameters, and provided intermediate of their ends with a recess having upper and lower walls Aand adapted to permit expansion of a Christmas tree within the same.

' 2. A Christmas tree holder comprising a l body provided with a vertical opening adapted to receive al tree or pole, said body being also provided in the walls of the opening with a plurality of longitudinal recesses and u having a bore or opening, a plurality of adjustable clamping means mounted in the said recesses for engaging the tree or pole, and a fastening device arranged in the bore or hole and extending into the vertical opening for engaging the tree or polel to prevent relative movement of the same and a loosening of the means.

3. A self-supporting Christmas tree holder comprising a single piece body of molded a5 plastic material enlarged at the bottom to form a base of sufficient size to support the holder and a Christmas tree in an upright position and having a vertical opening of sulicient diameter to receive Christmas trees n0 of different sizes, the walls of the vertical my hand.

JAMES C. SMITH. 

